Roasted Butternut Squash and Hummus Pizza

with apple and walnut spinach salad

Hummus gives this creative pizza a boost of protein and serves as a fast, savory substitute for tomato-based sauce. We love the added sweetness that comes from leftover roasted butternut squash and so did our community members back when this pizza was first featured in November 2013.

Prep

Pizza dough - Cover in flour and let rest for at least 30 minutes outside of fridge before rolling out. This is tip #1 to good pizza - resting dough gives gluten time to chill out, which makes the dough much more pliable.

Shallots (for the pizza and salad) / Cheese - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)

Make

Whisk together shallots (the portion for the salad), vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Season with some salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425F (218C) degrees. Position top rack so it's at the very top. This is tip #2 - heat rises, so for the most golden crust use the top rack.

Brush sheet pan with some olive oil. Using hands, stretch out pizza dough to cover a sheet pan - it should be pretty easy to do if you let the dough rest. Brush the border with a bit of olive oil and then bake on top rack for 3 minutes without toppings. This is tip #3 - this solo time in the oven gives the dough time to crisp up; if you put toppings on now, your crust may get soggy.

Using a spatula or large spoon, cover crust with hummus and then sprinkle on mozzarella, shallots (the portion for the pizza) and leftover butternut squash. Bake for another 10 minutes on the top rack. Add parmesan and broil pizza for 1 to 2 more minutes before taking out of the oven. You should have melted cheese and a beautiful golden crust!

Reading the comments about how this was tasty but a little bland, I decided to add crumbles of FETA CHEESE to the pizza.
Result: Pure amazingness.
I never would have thought to put hummus and roasted butternut on a pizza and the saltiness of the Feta really added a great dimension to the combination of flavours. Definitely making again.
Highly recommend making this with the feta.